The New Zealand dollar rose against the greenback today, as markets diverted attention to the weather with Hurricane Sandy battering the east coast of the United States.

The kiwi recently traded at US81.97c, up from US81.87c in the morning. It was at 73.00 on the Trade Weighted Index against major trading partners' currencies, down from 73.20 in the morning.

Direct FX currency adviser Sam Coxhead said it had been a quiet day for the kiwi.

"Obviously there is a huge storm in the US taking out most of those markets over there and that has led to very much a sideways trade. There is not a lot happening. Against the aussie, the kiwi was very stable today," Coxhead said.

"We have the Bank of Japan statement [about potential easing] due any time that the market is awaiting. Otherwise we just need to see what plays out in the US."

On the crosses, the kiwi recently traded at 79.30 Australian cents, up from A79.24c in the morning. It was at 63.50 euro cents, down from 63.51 euro cents earlier. It was at 51.12 pence, up from 51.07 pence earlier. It rose to 65.42 Japanese yen from 65.32 yen earlier.

Coxhead expected the kiwi to trade in a fairly contained range between US81.70c and US82.50c overnight.